Following his heart to Guatemala

MICHAEL REED

Published 7:00 pm, Thursday, April 19, 2007

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Departing West U surgeon sets sights on vice presidency

While complicated career choices have caused many otherwise contented residents to move away from West University Place over the years, Dr. Rafael Espada’s reason for leaving on Easter Sunday may qualify as the most unusual.

After 30 years as a cardiovascular surgeon at the Methodist Hospital, Espada is headed to Guatemala to run for vice president of the nation where he was born. And, if polls are any indication, he will succeed in his first bid for elective office Sept. 9.

Espada, who resides in the 3000 block of Quenby Street with his wife, Ana, threw his hat in the ring March 4 at the request of running mate Alvaro Colom, who came up just shy of becoming the Central American nation’s president in 2003. Currently, the pair has an 18-percentage point lead over 10 other tickets.

“I’m going to put my house on the market soon,” he said. “It’s not at all easy. It’s the only place in Houston I would want to live.”

Regarded by many in Guatemala as a national hero for the free surgeries he has returned to provide monthly in his native land for the past 20 years, Espada said he was asked to run for reasons beyond name recognition.

“I have never been in public service, and I don’t belong to a political party,” he said. “I’ve never involved myself in compromises or favors. I’m totally clean.”

Though new to campaigning, Espada, 63, got what might be considered his indoctrination into the political process in 1965, when as a first-year medical student in Guatemala, he was invited by the State Department to observe how the U.S. government worked.

“I got a card when I arrived in Miami during that trip, and it said, ‘go to an office,’” he said. “It was Sen. Robert Kennedy’s office.”

Espada, who became an intern for Kennedy, said the two were close for six months and that experience was instrumental in transforming his world view.

“I came to this with conservative ideas, but because of him, I began to look at the injustice of power after that,” said Espada, who was raised amid poverty. “Kennedy made us see the whole world. I saw he did care about other people, and that I was responsible for helping others.”

Kennedy later arranged a meeting with Dr. Michael DeBakey, after Espada mentioned how much he admired the renowned heart surgeon. DeBakey and Espada began working together in Houston in 1969.

“I remember seeing a ‘Look’ magazine with DeBakey on the cover. It got my attention,” Espada said. “I knew then that I wanted to do cardiovascular surgery for some reason.”

At first, Espada planned to return to Guatemala when his education was completed, but changed his mind after considering the lack of surgical units and state-of-the-art equipment in his homeland.

A few years later, he began flying to Guatemala, usually on the third week of each month, to perform as many as 10 free surgeries for the needy.

Seemingly unaware of any sacrifice on his part, Espada said, “It’s only a two-hour flight —almost like driving to Sugar Land. I fly in and have a nice lunch.”

Since 1994, these surgeries have been performed at a clinic called UNICAR, the nation’s only cardiovascular unit, which Espada founded and now operates with the help of a government budget. The unit handles more than 600 adult cases a year.

While the Colom-Espada ticket will espouse a platform designed to boost the national economy and further international relations, Espada remains committed to health care for the disadvantaged.

And since presidents are limited to one term of four years in Guatemala, there is a chance an even more humanitarian agenda will emerge with Espada seeking the top spot after sitting out one election as required by law. Or, maybe not.

“We are going to try to change those rules for more continuity,” Espada said of eliminating the four-year wait to run again. “The law was aimed at stopping dictators, but we (the nation) went overboard.”

So, would the soon-to-be former West University Place resident consider a run for the presidency in four years?